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CCC Prof Edits New Book

April 16 2014

Science and Religion: 5 Questions is a collection of 33 interviews based on five questions presented to some of the world's most influential thinkers.

Science and Religion: 5 Questions is a collection of 33 interviews based on five questions presented to some of the world's most influential and prominent philosophers, scientists, theologians, apologists, and atheists. Edited by Gregg D. Caruso, Corning Community College associate professor of philosophy, the book explores some of the most important open questions, problems, and challenges confronting the relationship between science and religion as well as the prospects for progress. It was published by Automatic Press, an imprint of Vince, Inc. Press, and is available now through the publisher and online book retailers.

“The book asks some of society’s greatest minds to explore questions that have piqued curiosities and challenged the foundation of our beliefs for centuries,” said Caruso, whose inspiration for the book came from his longstanding interest in the relationship between science and religion as well as his own work on consciousness and human agency. “The contributors include influential and prominent philosophers, scientists, theologians, apologists, and atheists, including a Nobel Prize winning physicist, three Templeton Prize winners, two ‘Humanist of the Year’ winners, the Most Influential Rabbi in America (Newsweek, 2012), the leading American expert on Tibetan Buddhism (The New York Times), a National Humanities Medal winner, a National Medal of Science winner, a Star of South Africa Medal winner, a Carl Sagan Award winner, a National Science Board’s Public Service Medal winner, a MacArthur Fellow, a Lakatos Award winner, an Erasmus Prize winner, a Friend of Darwin Award winner, a Distinguished Skeptic Award winner, the first Muslim to deliver the prestigious Gifford Lectures, and many more.”

Steven Pinker, noted Harvard professor and author, says Science and Religion: 5 Questions is a collection of "provocative thoughts on the most profound question of our time (or any time) by an all-star cast of thinkers."

The book explores such questions as:

Are science and religion compatible when it comes to understanding cosmology (the origin of the universe), biology (the origin of life and of the human species), ethics, and the human mind (minds, brains, souls, and free will)?

Do science and religion occupy non-overlapping magisteria?

Is Intelligent Design a scientific theory?

How do the various faith traditions view the relationship between science and religion?

What, if any, are the limits of scientific explanation?

“Science and Religion: 5 Questions was written for general audiences, reading and discussion groups, professional philosophers, scientists, theologians, and apologists,” said Caruso. “As it happens, though, it is also well suited for courses in science and religion, philosophy of religion, and apologetics.”